End-gate for vehicles



W. SANDERSON.

END GATE-FOR VEHICLES. APIPLICATION FILED JAN-3,1918.

1,37 6,733. Patented y 3, 1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM SANDERSON, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO SIMPLEX MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF GONNEAUTVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPO- RATION OF DELAWARE.

END-GATE FOR VEHICLES.

Application filed. January 3, 1918.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM SANDERSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Pittsburgh, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in End-Gates for Vehicles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact descri tion thereof.

N y invention relates to end-gates for yehicles, and its object is to provide an 1mproved form of swinging end-gate which 1s adapted for opening by swinging either upwardly or downwardly according to the requirements of unloading the vehicle, and which also may be readily detached from the vehicle.

With these objects in view, the invention consists in a vehicle having an end gate provided with a hinge rod at one edge, a body provided with rearwardly opening sockets in which said hinge rod is seated, and a flexible connecting device between the hinge rod and sockets to form a hinge joint for the end gate.

The accompanying drawings illustrate one preferred embodiment of the invention in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of an auto-vehicle, for example, having a dumping body with my improved end-gate applied thereto; Fig. 2 is an enlarged end view of the vehicle wlth my improved gate applied thereto; Fig. 3 is a side view of the rear of the vehicle showing the gate in normal closed position; Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the gate partly open when connected to swing upwardly; and Fig. 5 is a s1m1- lar view showing the gate connected at the bottom for swinging downwardly.

The vehicle may comprise the usual chassis 1 having the vehicle body 2. The end gate 3 is adapted to swing on the vehicle body either at its upper edge or at its lower edge, and for that purpose is provided at the bottom with a hinge rod 4 and at the top with a hinge rod 5. These rods are secured to the end gate by means of metal straps, these having eyes 7 at the top and bottom to receive the hinge rods 4 and 5. I prefer to employ the continuous hinge rods extending across the end gate for simplicity of construction, though it is evident that any equivalent form may be employed providing hinging pins or bearings on the end Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

Serial No. 210,199.

gate for hinge connection with the body. The rear ends of the sides of the vehicle body are shown as provided with straps 8 having head portions or sockets 9 project- 1ng above the upper end of the body. These heads or sockets 9 are provided with rearwardly opening recesses or seats for the reception of the upper hinge rod 5, the upper edges of the heads being rounded as particularly shown in Figs. 4L and 5, and having stop shoulders 10 on their forward faces to support the clevises by which the two are connected.

Mounted on the said hinge rod 5 opposite the sockets 9 are the swinging clevises or hinge bails 20, which are free to turn on the hinge rod and may be held thereon by nuts or heads 21. These clevises 20 are of U- shape, and when in place connecting the end gate and body, they are swung over the sockets 9 and are supported by gravity on the stop shoulders 10. Thus to connect the top of the end gate and the body, it is only necessary to seat the hinge rod 5 in the rearwardly opening seats of the sockets 9, and swing the clevises or bails 20 over the tops of the sockets when they rest on the shoulders 10, and so form positive, strong, swinging connections between the top of the end gate and the top of the body. For disengaging the upper end of the end gate with the body, it is only necessary to swing the clevises 20 on the hinge rods over the top of the sockets 9, leaving the upper portion of the end gate free to drop away from the body.

At the bottom of the rear end of the vehicle body, and at either side thereof are hinge blocks 12, which, in the form here shown, may be provided with threaded shanks 13 passing through and secured to the end sill 11 of the body by means of nuts 14:, see Figs. 4: and 5. These hinge blocks have rearwardly opening recesses 15 to receive the lower hinge rod 4 and in order to attach the end gate to the body for the downward swing, the ends of the lower hinge rod 4: are seated in the recesses 15 of the hinge blocks 12, and suitable means are provided for holding the hinge rod in the said seats and so forming a pivot on which the end gate swings. For this purpose I have illustrated the hooks 16 pivoted on rock shaft 17 mounted on the vehicle body and illustrated as extending along the bottom thereof. These hooks 16 pass over the lower hinge rod resting thereon and hold it within the recesses 15, and so providing the hinging means for the lower end of the end gate. The hooks 16 may be raised by means of a hand lever 18 secured to the rock shaft 1'7, the hand lever being confined by the bail 19 on the side of the vehicle body.

Thus,,it will be seen that by means of its hinge rods and the rearwardly opening seats and the flexible gravity connections, a very simple and efficient end gate is provided, which can be quickly removed from the body, or can be hinged either at its top or bottom to the vehicle body and is free to swing on such hinges. When it is desired to pivot the end gate at the top 01" the body,

the hooks 16 connected with the lower hinge rod are raised, leaving the lower edge of the end gate free to swing, it being securely pivoted at the top by the clevises or hinge bails 20 on the hinge rods fitting over the heads or sockets 9 of the rear edge straps 8 of the body. hen it is desired to swing the end gate from its lower pivotal connection, it is only necessary to swing up the clevises 20 over the sockets 9 of the straps 8, when the end gate will pivot on the lower hinge rod fitting in the seats 15 and held by the hooks 16. Both the clevises 20 and the hooks l6 operateby gravity and therefore hold the end gate securely to the body except when the connection at top or bottom is intentionally broken to leave that end free to swing on its other pivotal connection. A simple construction is thus provided which permits of quick disconnection of the end gate from the body, either at its top, its bottom, or both, while the door may be swung on its pivots from either set of lugs; the pivots at the free or swinging end oi the gate are maintained in register with their respective lugs by the hinge at the opposite end of the gate.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a vehicle body having its rear end provided with fixed rearwardly opening sockets at top and bottom, of a removable freely swinging end gate having fixed pivots at the top and bottom thereof adapted to seat without shifting in said sockets to form hinge connections to the body, whereby the gate may be swung from either its upper or lower edge and the fixed pivots on the swinging end of the gate are maintained in radial registering position with their respective sockets.

2. In combination with a vehicle body having its ends provided with rearwardly opening sockets, and having stop shoulders at the opposite sides of the sockets, an end gate having a pivot rod fitting in said sockets and clevises hinged on said rod to e11- gage with the socket members on the body and so form a pivot joint between the body and the end gate, said. clevises resting by gravity upon the stops on the sockets.

in testimony whereof, I, the said WILLIAM Snnnnnson, have hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM SANDERSON. Witnesses:

\VELIAM L. THOMAS, WALTER D. YOUNG. 

